News time! The following is a press release about my upcoming game Bond Breaker. Spoiler: It is coming out August 28th!

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TestTubeGames and the CaSTL Center are happy to announce a release date for Bond Breaker, a puzzle game based on real nano-scale science — coming to web and mobile on August 28th.

At the Center for Chemistry at the Space Time Limit (CaSTL) at UC Irvine, scientists are able to break apart individual molecules in incredible ways. In fact, their research is so mind-blowing, they wanted the world to see it. Their first plan: let everyone rush into the lab, with their grubby little fingers, and proceed to break all of their multimillion dollar equipment. After talking with their insurance agent, they reconsidered, and decided to make a game.

Thus Bond Breaker was born! Now the game is nearly complete, and will be coming to iPhone, Android, and the web on August 28th. In this science puzzle game, you get to enter CaSTL’s laboratories in the smallest way possible – as a single proton. You don’t even have an atom to call your own. Learn what it takes to be a proton, experience subatomic forces, and with luck and determination, grow into an atom. Collide atoms together into molecules, or break them apart again using lasers, tunneling microscopes, and heat.

The game is being developed by TestTubeGames, a studio that doesn’t take science lightly. When you make molecular bonds (or break them apart), you’ll encounter real forces and real physics. You won’t just be learning how to beat challenging puzzles, you’ll truly be gaining a new understanding of the atomic world. This isn’t just simple stuff, either! While the game assumes no prior knowledge, by the end, you’ll have an understanding of:

This is a game that I’ve been working on with the CaSTL research group at UC Irvine — which stands for Chemistry at the Space Time Limit, so you know it’ll be good. And to boot, the game is packed with Real Physics*. They do research with lasers and tunneling microscopes, grabbing single molecules, and breaking apart and breaking single bonds. So like doing Chemistry… but instead of using a beaker, you grab an individual molecule and bend it to your will.

The game itself is based on the forces you’d experience at the atomic scale. It’s a puzzle game where you, as a proton, are moving around the nano-world. Atoms drift into one another, and if they get close enough, they’ll form molecules. You can excite the electrons, create ions, fuse into helium, fire lasers, and more.

Ever been a proton before? Oh, you’ve been *many* protons, you say?

There’s a whole bunch of physics going on, as you can tell from the list of levels:

Muons *and* Van der Waals forces? Nonstop excitement, right there.

The game itself will be coming out on web/iOS/Android for absolutely free, and soon, at that. We’ve got it slated for release in late August, though stay tuned for the details. Wanna know more? Join the conversation (or even help by playtesting the game) here.